After coming fifth in the final of the 100m, Gandy, the British record holder, will be confident of qualifying for the final at her stronger distance in Wednesday’s heats. Lowe, who won silver at the World Shortcourse Championships over 200m, will also be chasing a place in Thursday’s final.

James Goddard (200m medley)

The double Commonwealth gold medallist has been drawn into the lane next to Michael Phelps in his preliminary heat and faces a hugely competitive field — also including Ryan Lochte — as he tries to qualify forThursday’s final.

Based at Auburn University in Alabama, Brown has been impressing his coaches in training. At 6ft 6in he is an impressive presence and having world record holder Cesar Cielo in his heat should ensure it is a quick one, but qualifying from a field of 108 swimmers for Thursday’s final will be very tough.